Modern Lounge Chairs
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
21st Century and Contemporary Austrian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wood
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Walnut
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Beech
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
Late 20th Century American Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s French Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome, Brass, Nickel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Bronze
20th Century Dutch Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Hickory, Leather
1950s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1980s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Pine, Rush
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Cherry
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Wool
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Early 20th Century European Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel, Chrome
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Faux Fur, Ash
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather
2010s Spanish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Turkish Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Hardwood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fur, Fabric, Bouclé, Faux Fur, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
1990s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
2010s Brazilian Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Finnish Modern Lounge Chairs
Aluminum
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
Early 2000s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
1980s Swiss Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Wood, Teak
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Lounge Chairs
Nickel
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Metal
Early 2000s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Wood
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Bentwood
2010s German Modern Lounge Chairs
Oak
2010s Chinese Modern Lounge Chairs
Marble, Stainless Steel
2010s Mexican Modern Lounge Chairs
Wicker, Hardwood
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Sheepskin, Fabric, Wool, Mohair, Bouclé, Faux Fur, Ash, Velvet
1940s Italian Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Wood
1970s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Stainless Steel
1990s Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
2010s Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Lounge Chairs
Resin, Sycamore
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Teak
1970s French Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Oak
1960s American Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Chrome
2010s North American Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Brass
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
2010s South African Modern Lounge Chairs
Ceramic, Upholstery
2010s American Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Cut Steel
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Late 20th Century Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Lounge Chairs
Leather, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Resin
2010s Ukrainian Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric, Textile, Bouclé, Sheepskin, Wool, Velvet, Faux Fur, Ash
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Lounge Chairs
Velvet, Wood
1970s Vintage Modern Lounge Chairs
Cotton